Sunday, October 10, 2010

COMIC: Top of the Stack - Toy Story #7 (Review)

Written by Jake BlackPencils by Diego JourdanCover by Diego Jourdan

Publisher: BOOM Kids! (BOOM! Studios)Price: $2.99

All ages books have always had a place in my reading lists and the amount of titles that fit that criteria has grown in recent years. With a week of comic books that seemed to lack headlining titles due to last month having five weeks in it, it was the perfect opportunity for an all ages book to jump into the spotlight and Toy Story #7 from the BOOM Kids! line of BOOM! Studios did just that.

Delays have put this book under the radar, but with the Toy Story 3 movie still fresh in my mind I have kept an eye out for the title and with this issue I am glad I did. Issue seven was written by Jake Black, who like the book is under the radar despite having written issues for a number of comic book titles ("Tales of the TMNT", "Spongebob Squarepants") over the last half of the decade.

In this issue Andy's toys decide to stage their own campfire campout while Andy is off at a sleepover. Woody does his best to recreate what he remembers from the time Andy took him along to Cowboy Camp and that means campfire songs and scary stories. Each toy gets a turn to tell their version of a scary story but it is an unlikely toy that gives the other toys a fright.

As entertaining and true to the characters the story was, it was the wonderful art that put the comic at the top of the stack. The interiors and cover were drawn by Diego Jourdan, a veteran of drawing licensed characters including the Finding Nemo book that is also a part of the BOOM Kids! line of BOOM! Studios. His simple, cartoon style works well with an animated property book giving the title a cute, friendly look that is visually appealing upon sight.

While this is the first time Toy Story has made it to the top of the stack that has more to do with the release schedule than the quality of the series. That is why I am fine with the possibility of this just being a fill-in issue because Jesse Blaze Snider's stories have been just as fun. BOOM! has done a bang-up job with their licensed properties and I recommend picking up any of these titles to read because they are all gems worth the look.